Incident Report: Terre Haute, Indiana, 1 February 1953

This document contains a report regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on February 1, 1953, at approximately 2130 EST. A military aircraft, while flying on a 270-degree heading 10 miles west of Terre Haute, Indiana, reported observing a group of lights that changed colors from red to blue, to green, and finally to yellow. The pilot estimated the altitude of these lights to be between 30,000 and 15,000 feet, noting that the objects appeared to fly in a manner similar to conventional aircraft. The report also mentions that searchlights from the St. Louis area appeared to be following the unidentified lights. Upon investigation, the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) determined that there were numerous commercial and military flights operating in and out of St. Louis at the time of the sighting. The official conclusion reached by ATIC was that the phenomenon was 'possibly aircraft,' suggesting that the searchlights from St. Louis may have illuminated an aircraft, which would account for the reported color changes observed by the pilot from a distance of 100 miles. The document also includes a separate, unrelated inquiry from a civilian in North Hollywood, California, dated February 2, 1953, asking why flying saucers are kept secret and referencing a separate incident involving a transport aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean. This inquiry is marked as 'No Case (Information Only).'